Mechanic&#39;s work-holding table furnished with adjustable work-supporting arms



Jan. 11, 1949. w. KILLIUS 2,459,030

MECHANICS WORK HOLDING TABLE FURNISHED WITH ADJUSTABLE WORK-SUPPORTINGARMS Filed March 15. 1948 VV/LA 04M /f/; .1, m5,

IN VEN TOR.

Patented Jan. 11, 1949 MECHANICS WORK-HOLDINGVTABLE FUR NISHED WITHADJUSTABLE Won -SUP- PORTING ARMS I I William; Killius,flAltadena,qCalif 'assignor to I Blackhawk Mfg. (10., Milwaukee, Wis.

Application March 13, 194s,=seri a1 No. 14,746

. .4 Claims. (01. 29428 This invention relates to a mechanicsworkholding table provided with adjustable work-supporting arms. I

In its broader aspect this invention'relates to diverse work supportingmeans comprising a plurality of upstanding legs grouped about an openspace and rigidly secured to each other, and universally adjustablemeans carried by .the upper end portions of said legs and positionableto'engage the supportedwork so as toeither permit free swinging of thework pieces or'to firmly hold them either Within said. open space oroutside thereof in any desired position.

An important object of the invention is to provide, in conjunction withupstanding table legs, work-carrying arms mounted upon theupper endportions of said legs, said arms being adjustable either to pointinwardly toward each-other or 'to point outwardly from the space betweenthe table legs at any angle, so that this double-direction adjustment ofsaid arms greatly increases the range of adjustment, whereby,plate-like. and other irregular objects varying greatly in size may beeffectively supported by said arms. Said arms besides being Verticallyand horizontally movable, are also adjustable throughout a completecircle, and hence may be disposed transversely of the work table, thelatter adjustment being sufficient to vastly increase-theworking zone orarea defined by the-four legsof the table. Another important object is tprovide, a mechaniciswork table wherein the supported work is moreuniversally accessible, so that the workman may approach it from allsides and from above and below, as well, to perform desired operationsand to makenecessary repairs.

Still another object is to provide for swinging work to a greatervariety of angular positions than has-heretofore been possible,. this,object being attained through the use Of pivoted angle ironwork-supportingelements, which can be applied andheld to the work inagreater variety ofpositions. I -i i A further object is to provide asimpleibut sturdy work holding assemblage comprisingia plurality of Workengaging elements of an u ar formation swingably suspended fromlongitudinally and rotatably adjustable approximately horizontal armswhich are supported upon posts or legs of a common unitary frame, theelements being cooperable with clamps for attaching them against thetop,bottom or any side portion: of diversely shaped workpieces soasto firmlyhold thelatterin various positions, f r

'. fn'other object is to; provide, in combination with a plurality ofupstanding legs, a work-carrying arm mounted upon each leg which isadjustable independently of the arms of the other legs, so that thesupportedobject may be tilted in a greater variety of ways, thuspositioning it to a a greater advantage for performing work upon it.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a-plurality ofchain-supported vise clamps carried by the aforesaid arms, so as torender said clamps always conveniently accessible to the workman; y

Yet another object is to provide a work table that will support agreater variety of objects to be worked upon; in relation to theirweight, size and shape. In. this respect, parts to be Worked upon havingcurved outer edges may be supported and clamp-held equally as well asthose having straight edges.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention willhereinafterappear.

Referring to the accompanyin drawing, which illustrates a preferredembodiment of the invention as nowbeing manufactured,

Fig. 1 isa perspective View of the table; showing it in use for removinga large dent from a panel of a door.. In this'view all but one of thevise. clamps are shown unapplied to illustratemore clearly possiblemodes of applying the angular supporting bracket or element to the work.Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, part sectional and part elevationalview of the upper end portion of one of the legs illustrating theuniversally adjustable work supporting mechanism carried thereby. Inthis view a fragmentary portion of awork piece is shown clamped to theangular bracket of the supporting mechanism, and there are dotted lineindications in the view illustrating adjusted positions ofthe bracket.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan View on the plane indicated by: the line 3-3 ofFig. 2. n v

Fig'. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view looking at the bottom of thestructure showing another adjustment of a door-supporting element.

Fig. 5 is a. fragmentary view-showing the application of, one of theSupporting brackets to a flange of a door, the vise clamp being omitted;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevation showing how the vise clampgrips, against one of the supporting elements, a work part beingoperated upon;

Referringin detail to'the drawing, the work holding tablet comprises apolygon'al, preferably rectangular frame 9 having .at each of itscornerportions an upstanding. angleir'onleg' H! which is positioned with themedial portion of the inner side fitted against and bolted to theadjacent corner portion of said frame, braces H being provided tostabilize each corner portion of the structure and to maintain the angleiron legs in their upright positions.

Adjacent to the'top of each angle iron leg, as shown in Fig. 2, there iswelded or otherwise firm- 1y secured to the inner face of the legsangle, a sleeve 12, the top of which. desirably projects slightly abovethe top of the leg; Downwardly into each sleeve l2 rotatably andverticallyadjustably extends a tubular rod l5 carrying at its upper endan elongated horizontally extending collar l6 which is welded orotherwise secured to the upper end of said rod l5. This rod'm'ay be heldagainst turning by meansof a manually operable lock screw 1 l which istapped through the angular leg and sleeve in a contacting relation-tothe rod [5. Said rod [5 is held in vertically adiusted position by acollar 18 which rests on top of said sleeve 42 and is furnished with aset screw 19 which is tapped through said collar ('8 into an abuttingrelation to said rod 15.

The aforesaid horizontally extending collar l6 has longitudinallyslidably and rotatably mounted within it, a Work-supporting arm 22 whichcarries at its work-supporting end a right angularly shaped element orbracket plate 23.. Said rod 22 is maintained against sliding androtating by means of a winged screw lBa the inner end of which abutsagainst said rod. Said bracket plate or element 23 has paired ears 24welded to or otherwise firmly associated with the outer face of one ofits limbs, said ears being apertured to receive a pivot bolt 25. Saidangular plate 23 is shown provided over its inner face, with a cushion23a desirably made of belting fabric or other relatively pliablepadding. Said bracket plate is swingably adjustable about the pivotbolt" 25 through an angle of 180 degrees. Y

The tubular rod 22 is shown having a flattened end portion 22a whichfits with a working fit between the aforesaid paired lugs 24. Each ofthese flattened rod portions 22a affords a convenient anchorage for oneend of a chain 23, there being attached to the opposite end'of saidchain a manually operable vise clamp 29. Various clamps maybe chained tothe work-supporting arms but for certain uses I prefer to use the viseclamp described in Patent No. 2,289,005, which maintains the work firmlywithin its gripped position.

The structure which has thus far been described afiords means foradjustably supporting a great variety of diversely shaped articles uponwhich work is to be performed, Fig. 1 of the drawing showing a battereddoor 40 supported by the apparatus in a position to have a bulgedportion M smoothed out. 'In this view only one of the vise clamps areshown applied, the others being omitted to show more clearly structurethat would otherwise be obscured, but the elements 23 are shown incoaction with both the top and bottom of the door flange.

Considering further the operational steps relating to the device, inFig. 1 three plate elements 23 areshown as overlying the doors flangeand one is shown underlying it. When the elements 23 overlie the flangesof the door clamps 29 are necessary, but clamps are not necessary at alltimes, as for example when the elements 23 are positioned underlying theflange as in Fig. 1, or as underlying the door proper, as shown in Fig.4. When the'door is maintained vertically as shown in Fig. 5, a clamp isalso necessary, and it is noteworthy that when the door or work issuspended from only two alined rods 22, the work piece may be swungfreely about a horizontal axis above and Within the frame 9 to anyangular position.

When the dent 4| in the door 4!! has been removed and when the windowend of the door is supported as shown at the nearer left in Fig. 1 or asin Fig. 4, all that is necessary, when the door is to be swungvertically, is to loosen the wing nuts Ilia in the horizontallyextending collars l6 and raise the window end of the door to theposition desired and re-apply the wing nuts. In the latter position thedoor is accessible for painting, re-upholstering or performing whateverwork on it is desired.

Also, with the elements 23 supporting th flange as shown in Fig. 1,there is no supporting part in the way to repair damage to such flange.

Consider a fender, for example, to be repaired. The fact that it hasboth straight and curved edges makes the present table a desirable oneto use, for the arms 22 may be projected radially inwardly of the fourlegs HI and the elements 23 may be angularly adjusted to cause eitherflange thereof to grip a curved part as efliciently as a straight edgeof the fender. Furthermore, a fender. supported between the two near ortwo far arms as seen in Fig. 1 may be rotated about the axis of twoalined arms which support it in a manner similar to that alreadydescribed in relation to the door 48. Figs. 2, 3 and 6 illustrate theway a fender part -12 or similar constructed part can be held in thevise clamp. Any other type of automotive part or fabricated part may besupported and handled equally as well as those already described.

The use of structural metal in the construction of the frame and legs orcorner posts, and the use of tubular stock rods 15 and arms-22,facilitates manufacture of the table assemblages; and the formation ofthe table with a rectangular open frame secured to the medial portionsof the legs or posts 10 well below their upper extremities, enables thework pieces to be swung freely and without obstruction either verticallyor horizontally within or outside of the frame bounds. The pivotalmounting of the angle elements 23 and the bodily adjustability thereofrelative to each other and in any desired direction, moreoverfacilitates attachment and cooperation with respect to work of any shapeor size, and thus provldes an extremely flexible work holdingconibination. The interchangeably similar formation of the partsassociated with each corner of the table also reduces to a minimum thecost of manufacturing the improved units, and therebyprovides arelatively inexpensive but durable assemblage adapted to cooperate mosteffectively with various types of work.

' It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the subject matterclaimed.

I claim:

1. In a mechanics work holding table, a frame having a plurality ofremotely spaced corners, a rotatably and vertically adjustable uprightpost supported by said frame at each of said corners, an elongatedrotatably and horizontally adjustable horizontal arm mounted upon theupper end of each of said posts above said frame, and an angular workholding element swingably attached to an end of each of said arms, eachof said elements having a pair of work engaging flanges one of which ispivotally attached to the adjacent arm end to permit swinging adjustmentof the other flange across or eccentrically about the arm axis forengagement of said other flange with the work either at any anglerelative to said axis or from above or below.

2. In a mechanics Work holding table, a frame having at least threeremotely spaced corners, a rotatably and vertically adjustable uprightpost supported by said frame at each of said corners, an elongatedrotatably and horizontally adjustable horizontal arm mounted upon theupper end of each of said posts above said frame, an angular workholding element swingably attached to an end of each of said arms, eachof said ele- 'ments having a pair of integral work engaging flanges oneof which is pivotally attached to the adjacent arm end to permitswinging adjustment of the other flange across or eccentrically aboutthe arm axis for engagement of said other flange with the work either atany angle relative to said axis or from above or below, and a work clampflexibly suspended from each work holding element end of each arm andbeing universally disposable for cooperation with either element flangeand with the work coacting therewith.

3. In a mechanics Work holding table, a frame having four cornersdefining an intervening rectangular working zone, an upright cylindricalpost rotatably and vertically adjustably supported at each corner ofsaid frame, an elongated horizontal cylindrical arm rotatably andlongitudinally adjustably mounted upon the upper end of each of saidposts and having an end swingable within and across said working zone,an angular work holding element swingably attached to said end of eacharm, each of said elements having a pair of integral work engagingflanges disposed perpendicular to each other and one of which ispivotally attached to the adjacent arm end to permit swinging adjustmentof the other flange across or eccentrically about the arm axis forengagement of said other flange with the work eitherat any anglerelative to said axis or from above or below, and a work clamp flexiblysuspended from the adjacent arm end and being universally disposable forcooperation with either element flange and with the work coactingtherewith.

4. In a mechanics work holding table, a frame having a plurality ofremotely spaced corners, a rotatably and vertically adjustable uprightpost supported by said frame at each of said corners, an elongatedrotatably and horizontally adjustable horizontal arrn mounted upon theupper end of each of said posts above said frame, and an angular workholding element swingably attached to an end of each of said arms, eachof said elements having a pair of work engaging flanges and beingpivotally attached to the adjacent arm end to permit swinging adjustmentof at least one flange across or eccentricall around the arm axis forengagement with the work either at any angle relative to said axis orfrom above or below.

WILLIAM KILLIUS.

REFERENCES CITED lhe following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

